NEWSLETTER - April 2017
Club sessions - Continue through Easter.
This year Teign School have staff to allow us to keep the sessions going through Easter weekend, so please support the sessions on Good Friday evening 14th April and Easter Saturday morning 15th April.
When the League season finishes towards the end of April, our regular sessions in the sports hall will continue as normal on Friday nights and Saturday mornings right through the summer. There will be some disruption while exams take place in the sports hall (end of May through June), however, this year I have persuaded the school to allow us access to the end of the Sports Hall, as well as the Dance Studio, so we should still have at least 10 tables available. It may not look like we are there, as the hall will be full of exam tables, but we will be at the end, behind the curtain, and in the Dance Studio.
As a reminder to all: our Club Sessions run from 7.00 – 10.00 every Friday night and 9.00 – 12.00 every Saturday morning throughout the year. When you pay for a session (after your first free trial session) you automatically become a ‘member’ of the Club, there is no fee. You just pay a session fee of £2.50 students and £3.50 adults, with reductions for families. Coaching is available, although limited on Friday nights during the League season.
New Tables
We were successful with our bid to Table Tennis England for 3 new tables. A grant of £780 was obtained and with match funding from our club we have purchased 3 top quality Donic Compact 25 tables. These have already been installed, (with thanks to Rob & Dylan Bayliss and Jon Cheung for your help). Our Falcons team in the 3rd Division were the first team to play a match on them, and fully approved, beating Brixham Dolphins 9-1.
NA Falcons’ Robert Williams & Peter Tarjan v Bradley Hilton & Tom Andrews on one of the new tables
South Devon & Torbay Table Tennis League
Excellent performances all round and real progress from our juniors in the South Devon & Torbay Table Tennis League.
In the top Division, NA Batmen are level on points at the top, with 3 matches to go, however, top side Torbay Academy 1 have a match in hand. NA Buzzards are in a creditable 4th and struck by injuries, will have to be content with a 4th place finish. Five Newton Abbot players are in the top 10 of the averages in the First Division, the best being Dennis Gibbs 2nd with 87%, Kevin Nicholls, Kelvin Cheung, Shaun Gibbs & Jon Cheung the others.
NA Batmen – Shaun Gibbs, Dennis Gibbs, Kelvin Cheung
NA Eagles have been vying with Torbay Academy 3 all season for the top of the 2nd Division, but a recent defeat at the hands of the Academy team will now make it very difficult for the Eagles. However, just 6 points behind and with 3 matches to play, there is still a chance. There is a 33 point gap to 3rd place so a top 2 place is assured. Jim McIvor sits 4th in the averages with Andy Tyrrell 6th and Ed Crawford 7th.
NA Eagles – Jim McIvor, Ed Crawford, Andy Tyrrell
NA Hawks have led the 3rd Division all season, but have not been able to shake off the challenge from Torbay Academy 4 who sit just 6 points behind them with 3 matches to play. NA Falcons, who have had availability issues most of the season, have just climbed up to 5th but are still in a relegation battle as just 6 points separate the bottom 4 teams. The Hawks’ Doug Morgan is 2nd in the averages with team mate Ben Swettenham 5th.
NA Hawks – Ben Swettenham, Doug Morgan, Mike Coxhead, David Doxsey
The Fourth Division has been rather spoiled this year with the top two teams signing on experienced players far too good for this Division in an attempt to win it. If those two teams had played with the players initially signed on then it would have been a fair and open competition which all our teams could have competed with. Our NA Ospreys will finish in 3rd place, NA Owls in 4th with the Kites in either 5th or 6th. The Ospreys’ Dale Fabian is 3rd in the averages with team mates Luke Robins 5th and Robert Ferguson 9th.
NA Owls – Rob Bayliss, Rowan Bayliss, Dylan Bayliss, Travis Graham
Team Handicap Cup Competitions
The Eagles and the Falcons are still competing in the Challenge Cup, which is at quarter-finals stage. The Eagles’ latest cup victory was a close affair against Dawlish Drifters winning 5-4, and they now meet Brixham Pirates in the last eight. The Falcons defeated Torbay Academy (5) 5-1 to earn a tie against Torres R Us for a semi-final place.
The Dyment Doubles Shield is also down to the last eight, with 3 Newton Abbot teams still involved. NA Kites’ close encounter against Dawlish Diamonds saw them squeeze home 5-4 to earn a match against Club mates NA Eagles, who defeated Torre Tigers 5-1, which will ensure at least one Newton Abbot team in the last four. NA Ospreys overcame Torres R Us 5-2, and face Denbury Tykes in another quarter-final.
Best of luck to all our teams as they challenge for honours in the last few weeks of the season.
South Devon & Torbay Closed Championships
The Annual Closed Championships take place at Torbay Leisure Centre on Sunday 23rd April 2017. This is an all-day event with plenty of table tennis to be played. We would like to see a good contingent of players from the club taking part in this event, which is organised by Nick Halse. There are competitions for age groups and Divisions as well as the major events where you can get a chance to play against the top local players. For more info speak to Nick or Tony. While the tournament is primarily for League players there are Under 13 & Under 11 events free to enter and open to all players in those age categories, whether League players or not. Link to Entry Form:
Newton Abbot TTC Junior ‘CLUBMARK’ Challenge – The Don Blatchford Cup
We are hoping to hold this annual event in May/June. This is a Singles event open to all regular attending juniors and will feature the main Cup competition for the winners and runners-up of each group, and a Shield competition for the other competitors, ensuring lots of table tennis for all. Juniors will be competing for the Don Blatchford Cup, a fine trophy purchased in recognition of the man who got the club up and running in Newton Abbot, originally at Dyrons. Although the students will not know Don, he is always very keen on encouraging students.
We will keep the juniors informed to ensure nobody misses this event.
CLUBMARK Challenge competitors 2016
PRIDE OF TABLE TENNIS AWARD – Club Volunteer of the year
I had a great weekend at the National Championships in Nottingham, courtesy of Table Tennis England, to collect my Pride of Table Tennis National Volunteer of the year Runners-up award. This included a luncheon where i was sat next to Table Tennis England Chairman, Sandra Deaton, so i was able to bend her ear over a few things, which probably spoilt my chance of winning!! Some great table tennis was watched over the weekend in the company of fellow Buzzards, Kevin & Jon. We also met up with Jo, Kris & Jakub from Torbay Academy.
LEAGUE TABLE TENNIS, IS IT FOR YOU?
For those new to the club and hoping to progress to play League table tennis, we are near the end of the current season, so there will be no opportunity to play in the League until next season.
League table tennis matches are all on weekday evenings Oct - Apr. A team consists of 3 players each playing 3 singles sets with 2 of the players also playing one doubles; the evening’s table tennis is usually about 3 hours long, starting at 7 o’clock. At present, most matches are on Thursdays and Fridays. All home fixtures are played on Friday nights at Teign School; other venues at present are at Torquay Academy, Brixham Community Centre, Torre, Dawlish Leisure Centre, Marldon, Denbury, Bishopsteignton, Combe Pafford School & Halwell.
While there is no cost to join Newton Abbot Table Tennis Club there are fees for League players who must join Table Tennis England (currently Seniors £12, Juniors £6) and pay team and individual League fees (currently Seniors £12, Juniors £8). In addition there is a £5 match fee payable for each home match to cover the cost of the venue.
Apologies for repeating this from the last newsletter but we do have a significant number of newcomers to the club who could be interested in playing competitively.
I am also exploring the possibility of hiring the dance studio on a Tuesday or Wednesday evening to play some League home fixtures which could free up coaches for the Friday night sessions.
Non-League Players, recreational players, beginners.......
I am very conscious that this whole newsletter seems to revolve around competitive League table tennis. I would like to stress that our club is fully committed to supporting and helping all players at any level, whether beginners, recreational players, or old hands who have forgotten what it was all about. We encourage participation at all levels and are open to any ideas you may have to improve your experiences at our club.
South Devon & Torbay Table Tennis League’s Website
Keep an eye on all things table tennis locally by logging on to the League’s website at: www.tabletennis365.com/southdevon
A link to this newsletter is sent to all those players who have attended our practice sessions at Teign School in the last few months. If you do not wish to be included on my circulation list please let me know. tonyhalse@hotmail.com
